In the Spotlight: Real.Foodie

After winning Devon Life’s Home Cook of the Year 2016/17, Exeter’s Emy Mordue took to the internet to share her skills and home cooked recipes as the Real Foodie. Following her Instagram feed has had the knock-on effect of some serious food envy and we can’t wait for her website to launch later in the year so we can try some of her delicious looking recipes for ourselves. If you aren’t following Emy on Instagram yet we recommend you do, because this foodie is likely to be flying in no time with the level of culinary talent she has showcased so far!

When did you start using Instagram?

Winning the Devon Life Home Cook of the Year competition gave me a bit of a confidence boost with my cooking, that’s when I decided to create @real.foodie. The account has been running for the best part of a year now and I enjoy posting pictures of homemade food created in my little cottage kitchen (with the odd meal out/with family thrown in).

How would you describe your style of cooking?

That’s a tricky one! It depends on my mood, what’s in the cupboards, the time of year or who’s coming for dinner. I love European cuisine and enjoy cooking things like risotto, homemade pizza or a variety of tapas style dishes… I also like cooking classic meat and veg combinations, especially in the colder months – so I guess my style of cooking is fairly varied! It also helps that my other half, Matt, is a bit of a foodie – he makes an amazing focaccia and the best dauphinois potatoes.

Do you ever get inspiration for recipes from Instagram?

Definitely! I think social media platforms like Instagram or Pinterest are a fantastic source of inspiration… sometimes someone you follow will use an ingredient in a different way, or plate their food with particular flair and this just helps to spark ideas for your own food. I’m looking forward to when I can give back to my own Instagram community – the plan is to launch www.realfoodie.co.uk by the end of this year so I can share my recipes and kitchen stories.

Do you have a top food photography tip?

Lighting. I think most people would say that, but there is a reason why… it makes a huge difference to your photos! When possible, I like to take pictures of my food next to a window so that the natural light can hit the plate.

When I’m not realfoodie I’m working 9-5 as a Content & Community Manager, this means that when I get home after work in the winter it’s already dark… so I have to work extra hard to get a decent picture of my food. When there isn’t the option for natural light, I make sure to white balance my pictures and overall I try to avoid harsh artificial lighting, which causes the colours to be off and creates deep, dark shadows. In this situation, I find the best thing to do is to move the plate around a little and take multiple pictures from different angles – at least one of the shots has to be halfway decent!

Who are some of your favourite IG accounts right now?

Aside from following @thedevonfoodie’s local restaurant recommendations (yum!), I enjoy content from people like @stomachhalfempty (Carla posts beautiful foodie pictures, but she also gives back to her community with tips and advice to grow their own Insta-tribes), or fellow home cook Instagrammers such as @on_ts_table, (Tamara creates delicious savoury meals!) and the @theunlikely_foodie (Emma mainly makes amazingly tasty looking baked goods).

If you want to treat your eyes to a colourful display of food check out @sophiebuh79 (I could hang some of Sophie’s posts as artwork in my kitchen).

Finally, I also have to show my puppy’s Insta account some love, @hudson.ttoodle (he’s a cheeky little Tibetan Terrier cross Poodle puppy with so much hair)

Is there an IG account that you think deserves some love? Let us know in the comments and we’ll check it out!